Biological samples are collected and stored in many different types of facilities for a great variety of applications. Such applications include the storage of samples collected during clinical trials in pharmaceutical companies, research samples used in university laboratories, samples archived in hospitals, samples used in the discovery of biological marks for diagnostic testing, forensic samples from crime or disaster scenes and so on.
Vials and other containers used to store such samples are frequently required to be heated and stored at temperatures higher than room temperature. Typically, heat is applied by placing the vials in a water bath where the water is maintained at a constant temperature. Alternatively, resistive elements are formed in the base of some vials, and electrical connections are provided on the vial so that the resistive element can be connected to a heating circuit. The heating circuit supplies current through the resistive element in order to heat the vial. These systems are limited to the maximum temperature of the sample that can be achieved.
Existing methods of heating samples can be slow (time to heat sample) and uncontrollable. In addition, water baths pose a risk of contamination to samples being heated and between samples, and while the bath temperature can be monitored, individual vial or tuba sample temperature cannot be monitored. Such vial heating systems provide inaccurate heating of substances stored in the vial.
It would be desirable to provide a system for heating substances stored in containers which ameliorates or overcomes one or more disadvantages of known heating systems, or at least provides an alternative to known induction heating systems.
The above discussion of background art is included to explain the context of the present invention. It is not to be taken as an admission that any part of the prior art referred to was published, known or part of the common general knowledge at the priority date of any one of the claims of this specification.